Posted on 01/03/2006 7:10:31 AM PST by Cagey
SAYREVILLE, N.J. -- Four teens stole 27 baby Jesus statues from nativity scenes outside churches and homes and planned to burn them, police said.
Two of the suspects, who ranged from 15 to 19 years old, said they acted out of boredom, authorities said.
"They were looking for things to do," Detective Ken Kelly said. "They told us, 'We were going to have a baby Jesus burning party."'
One suspect told detectives, "We just wanted to see their heads burning," Kelly said.
The suspects, who were arrested Monday, face charges of theft, criminal mischief, destruction of venerated objects and conspiracy, and could face five years in prison if convicted.
Robert Olson, whose 18-year-old son, Christopher, was charged, said he and his family were shocked by the arrest.
"Although Chris is sometimes misguided, this was not something we expected out of him," he said.
Olson said his son is unemployed and working toward resuming his high school education. The teen is on probation for a disorderly persons offense involving a disagreement with a neighbor, his father said.
"I hope my son and the others will come to grips with what they've done and make full restitution and get whatever help they need to get rid of those feelings," Olson said.
Frank Payne, whose 19-year-old son, Michael, also was charged, said bias was not a factor.
"Michael has been hanging around with the wrong people," he said. "He goes to college. He's an outstanding young kid."
Also charged were 18-year-old Nicholas Hess and a 15-year-old who was not identified due to his age.
That happened in the same town as this story. I'd guess there has to be a connection.
After reading these comments from the clueless fathers, it must be really hard to defend wooly-headed boomer parents such as these, as some on this forum try to do.
There has to be a connection, for if not, there are a lot of messed up kids in this town.
The Crucifix in St. Stans' Cemetery is huge! I'm amazed that no one saw these kids ripping it down. Pulaski Ave. which runs next to the cemetery isn't exactly a side street.
Right. Bias crime laws may be a good or a bad idea, but they are clearly not applied evenly.
This sounds like one of the things on Skippy's List...
>>>How would they burn this material? Does stone burn well?
To borrow a line from the Graduate:
"Just one word: plastic.">>>
Can a plastic form be called a "statue"? I mean is it a statue by definition?
Future Abortionists of America.
I think we should ask Mr. Wizard.
good point!
They probably have a bench down there that would work.
OMG. I am so sorry, PalmBeach. There's no words for these people.
Get a life. There's a point these kids go off to be that way on their own. I have been dealing with a kid that is determined to go bad no matter what I do. He's stolen money and medicines from me, has a drinking problem, smokes and plays with drugs. He's gotten into trouble with the law.
I have done it all. And that includes working hard on his spiritual life. But because I can't physically lock him in the house 24/7, he does things with his peer group I cannot control. This time, he's been gone four days. This state doesn't make runaway a ticketable offense. If he's not home by morning, I'll probably turn him in cause he's got school again tomorrow.
But there is a point in an adolescent's life you don't own him any more. He's owned by his peer group, if he's owned by anybody. If he chooses to do everything you say is wrong, you cannot really make him. The only thing I could have done was move out of state, and that was not doable.
Currently, he stands for values totally different than what I had been raising him with. AND I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO STOP IT. He wants to be this way.
He's not a person I like much today. Maybe later, but right now, soon as he turns 18, he will be asked to leave unless he decides to act differently.
You don't know what the parents of these boys had done either. They may be dealing with a situation like mine.
It's easy to talk about discipline. We need discipline for those adults who sell cigarettes and booze to kids. We need reform of a high school system that puts too many adolescents together without enough adults. We need rules that have some bite in them when kids get into trouble the first time.
We don't need to be sanctimonious about what is a family crisis that it is easy to be an armchair referee about.
I'm sorry, but how can this be mischief? Mischief is t.p.-ing a tree the night before Halloween, not weeks of stealing Baby Jesus from Mangers all over the county. And that is without mentioning what they did to the Church Manger, and my goodness, St. Stans' 15 foot Crucifix in the cemetery! That Crucifix has stood in that cemetery for decades!
I am so, so sick hearing about this, and hearing these parents already making excuses in these stories makes it even worse.
Look at this snipit from a more recent article:
A break in the case led detectives to an unregistered Mercury Sable parked in the driveway of Olson's home loaded with the stolen Jesus figures, Kelly said.
Residents living near St. Stanislaus Cemetery on Pulaski Avenue wrote down the license plate number of a suspicious car parked in front of their home on Thursday, Kelly said. The residents never called police, but detective Douglas Sprague learned of the car Saturday when he canvassed the area.
The 15-foot crucifix with a life-size cast metal Jesus figure on the cross was damaged late Friday or early Saturday.
Kelly said yesterday the young men and teenager slung a 60-foot hemp rope over the crossbeam of the cross and toppled it with a pick-up truck belonging to Payne, breaking the Jesus figure into several pieces.
They tried carrying the head off, but it weighed too much, so they settled for an arm, Kelly said.
Gee, I'm so sorry that the Parish couldn't have been more accommodating to these creeps. Perhaps Monsignor could replace Jesus and the Cross with something a bit lighter, and easier to rip apart and cart away?
If it were the symbol for any other group this would be a "hate crime" and the MSM would be covering it 24/7. >>
Oh, you got that right. It would have been the lead story on the major NYC network news. I've seen it before with other religions.
ATTN: White Trash Alert
Anyone else see Satan's ugly head involved in this?
Why steal a plastic Jesus when the real Jesus is free for the asking? Hopefully this incident will cause regret in these kids and they turn from evil. Or these could be monsters in the making.....punish severely in any case.
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